HOUSTON -- Bum Phillips, the folksy Texas football icon who coached the Houston Oilers during their Luv Ya Blue heyday and also led the New Orleans Saints, died Friday. He was 90.

Son Wade Phillips, the Houston Texans' defensive coordinator, confirmed the news on Twitter.

"Bum is gone to Heaven-loved and will be missed by all -great Dad,Coach, and Christian"

Phillips died at his ranch in Goliad.

Born Oail Andrew Phillips Jr. in 1923 in Orange, Phillips was a Texas original in his blue jeans, boots and trademark white Stetson -- except at the Astrodome or any other dome stadium because he was taught it was disrespectful to wear a hat indoors.

"Mama always said that if it can't rain on you, you're indoors," Phillips said.

Phillips loved the Oilers, and when coaching the team in the 1970s, he famously said of the Cowboys: "They may be 'America's Team,' but we're Texas' team."

He took over as coach of the Oilers in 1975 and led Houston to two AFC Championship games before he was fired in 1980. He was responsible for drafting Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell, the player who was largely credited with the success of the franchise.

It was a time marked by a frenzied fan base that filled the Astrodome to root for the Oilers and wave their blue and white pompons during games.

Houston lost to Pittsburgh 34-5 in the AFC Championship game in Campbell's rookie year. The Oilers returned to the game the following season only to be beaten again by the Steelers, this time 27-13.

The Oilers went 11-5 in 1980 but lost to Oakland in the AFC wild-card round, and Phillips was fired. He was 55-35 with the team in the regular season.

Fans loved his no-nonsense demeanor and were entertained by his often blunt comments.

"Football is a game of failure," Phillips was quoted as saying. "You fail all the time, but you aren't a failure until you start blaming someone else."

Among his best Bumisms: "There's two kinds of coaches, them that's fired and them that's gonna be fired." On Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula: "He can take his'n and beat your'n and take your'n and beat his'n." On Campbell's inability to finish a mile run: "When it's first-and-a-mile, I won't give it to him."

He left Texas to coach the Saints in 1981, going 27-42 before retiring after the 1985 season.

"We are saddened by the passing of Bum Phillips," Saints owner Tom Benson said in a statement. "I had the opportunity to work with him when I first purchased the team in 1985 and also enjoyed our friendship following his coaching career. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Debbie, Wade and the rest of his family."

Phillips played football at Lamar Junior College before joining the Marines during World War II. After the war, he went to Stephen F. Austin, where he played two more football seasons before graduating with a degree in education in 1949.

He spent about two decades coaching in high schools and colleges mostly in Texas -- he assisted the likes of Bear Bryant at Texas A&M, Bill Yeoman at Houston and Hayden Fry at SMU -- before making the jump to the AFL in 1967 as an assistant under Sid Gillman with the San Diego Chargers. Phillips came to Houston in 1974 as Gillman's defensive coordinator and became coach and general manager when Gillman resigned after that season.

Phillips picked up the nickname Bum as a child when his younger sister couldn't pronounce "brother" correctly and it sounded like "bum." He embraced the nickname and was quoted as saying: "I don't mind being called Bum, just as long as you don't put a you in front of it."

Phillips did some work as an analyst on television and radio football broadcasts for a bit before retiring to his ranch in Goliad. He experienced some health problems in recent years and underwent a triple bypass in 2005.

Although he left Houston, he always remained fond of the city. The Oilers moved to Tennessee and became the Titans in 1997, and Houston returned to the NFL in 2002 when the Texans began play.

He was asked how he feels about the two teams in Texas in 2007 when son Wade was named coach of the Cowboys.

"Your son is coaching one team, and the other team is the town you love more than any other," he said. "It's kind of hard to pull. They're not on the schedule, so I don't have to make that decision this year."

Wade Phillips talked about his father a few days after his 90th birthday. Houston led the Seahawks 20-3 at halftime on his birthday on Sept. 29, only to lose 23-20 in overtime. Wade Phillips told his dad that the first half of the game was his birthday present.

"He's real positive when you lose and gets on me when we win, saying, `You better play better than that or you might not win the next one," Wade Phillips said.

He said his father was still sharing tips with him this season.

"He always gives me a little advice about why did you play this on that certain down and this stuff," Wade said. "He's sharp on all the football stuff."

Phillips is survived by his second wife, Debbie, and six children from his first marriage along with almost two dozen grandchildren.

What a piece of work he was! My dad just loves him. He could say some of the funniest things. My favorites:

"There's two kinds of coaches, them that's fired and them that's gonna be fired."[3]
"I always thought I could coach. I just thought people were poor judges of good coaches."[4]
"I've never seen a hammer and tong game like that one."
"The harder we played the behinder we got."
"Mama always said that if it can't rain on you, you're indoors." (Explaining why he wouldn't wear his cowboy hat in a domed stadium)
"Dallas Cowboys may be America's team, but the Houston Oilers are Texas' team."
"I never scrimmage Oilers against Oilers...what for? Houston isn't on our schedule." (Source: The Book of Sports Lists)
(To an official) "Hey, can I, can I tell you one thing? That's three holding penalties on one football team in a quarter and a half. (Pauses) That ain't funny."
(To an official) "Now, you can't do that! If you do it, I'm telling you you'll have more hell over it than a little bit."
(after playing the Steelers for the fifth time in two seasons and planning to meet them a sixth time) "The road to the Super Bowl runs through Pittsburgh, sooner or later you've got to go to Pittsburgh.[5]
(20 years after playing Pittsburgh six times in two seasons) "Don't take long to spend all the time you want in Pittsburgh."[6]
(referring to Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula) "He can take his'n and beat your'n and take your'n and beat his'n."[7]
(referring to Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon) "That boy could throw a football through a car wash and not get it wet."
(when asked about Oilers RB Earl Campbell's inability to finish a one-mile run in training camp) "When it's first and a mile, I won't give it to him."
(when asked by Bob Costas why he took his wife on all of the Oilers' road trips) "Because she's too ugly to kiss goodbye."[8]
"Last year we knocked on the door. This year we beat on it. Next year we're going to kick the son of a bitch in."[1][9]
of Earl Campbell, "I don't know if he's in a class by himself, but I do know that when that class gets together, it sure don't take long to call the roll."[10]

"Respect all, fear none"

Those were from Wikipedia. He was so funny!

RIP Coach Phillips. You were quite a legend in Houston.

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